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TYLER – A Tyler jury has found a man guilty of raping a nine year old girl numerous times over an eight month period. The jury deliberated around three hours Thursday before finding DuJuan Bureau, 34, of Tyler, guilty. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month by 7th District Court Judge Kerry Russell. Bureau could get up to life in Prison.

SULPHUR SPRINGS – There’s been a large marijuana haul in Franklin County, about 20 miles northeast of Sulphur Springs. Three men have been arrested. The marijuana farm was found near the Hopkins-Franklin County line near the Sulphur Bluff Community. There were nearly 7,000 plants, some of them were up to 16 feet tall. Authorities say the street value of the drug is between $2 million and $3.5 million. Arrested were Arburto Ibarra Mateo, 44, of Ennis and Jorge Rodriguez, 47, and Jose Barrajas-Saucedo, 25, both of Mexico.

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University Associate Professor and Chief Flight Instructor Bruce Chase has been installed as the University Aviation Association president. It occurred last week at the association’s annual conference. This is the premier collegiate aviation association in the world. The UAA plays a pivotal role in the advancement of degree-granting aviation programs that represent all segments of the aviation industry.

Chase has been active in UAA for years, having given many presentations and serving as chair of the Flight Training Committee. He has taught flight at LeTourneau University for 18 years where he serves on the flight curriculum team and serves as the safety manager for LETU’s aviation school. He has given thousands of hours of flight instruction and instrument instruction. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Technology from LeTourneau University in 1992 and a Master’s of Aeronautical Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2005. He holds an FAA Gold Seal MEI, CFI, and CFII as well as Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor certificates. He is currently conducting research on student outcomes using glass panel cockpits versus traditional steam gauges in flight training.

MINEOLA – Authorities believe they have identified the driver of a vehicle that fatally struck a Mineola teen. The pedestrian victim in the hit and run crash that occurred October 4th on U.S. Highway 69 in Wood County is identified as Jacob Mikal Burrell, 15. He was pronounced dead around 10:30 the following morning at Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center.

The vehicle that hit the teen, a 2009 White Chevrolet Avalanche, was allegedly driven by Connie Young of Golden, Texas. According to the Department of Public Safety, Young was traveling Northbound on Highway 69 when she drove onto the improved shoulder to allow an approaching vehicle from the rear to pass her. Investigators believe that while driving on the improved shoulder, Young struck the youth. There are no charges at this time, pending the outcome of this ongoing investigation and presentation of the case to a Grand Jury.

EAST TEXAS — Two more East Texas school districts have joined the ranks of those fighting the state for equitable education funding. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. White Oak and New Diana school boards decided this week to join the Equity Center’s lawsuit, which was filed Monday by the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition. The lawsuit claims that the state’s public school finance system doesn’t treat Texas children and schools fairly and equitably. School districts are seeking to change the state’s finance system to make it equitable.

“The leadership of the White Oak Independent School District corporately believes it is time to call for a change in this system,” Superintendent Mike Gilbert said in a news release. “It is not something that can wait until 2017, or longer.” White Oak is pledging $1 per its weighted average daily attendance – about $1,700 – to the cause. New Diana Superintendent Joyce Sloan said her school board is still deciding a dollar amount to contribute to the cause, but has pledged its support. “For a one-time fee of $1,700.00 (one dollar per weighted average daily attendance) this coalition will petition the state to develop a new funding system that fairly compensates all school districts in a way that allows for the provision of a world class education for all students,” Gilbert said.

AUSTIN – Federal disaster assistance has been approved for six more Texas counties, mainly in East Texas, as a result of wildfires that swept through the state beginning Aug. 30. That announcement came Thursday from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The latest amendment to the Sept. 9 major disaster declaration adds Anderson, Henderson, Hill, Marion, Smith and Upshur counties to the list of nine already approved for federal cost-share reimbursements under FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program. The other counties are Bastrop, Cherokee, Colorado, Gregg, Harrison, Houston, Leon, Rusk and Walker.

The PA program helps reimburse applicants in the designated counties for the cost of removing disaster-related debris from public rights of way, and for measures taken by state and local emergency responders to protect lives and property before, during and after the fires. The program also helps defray the cost of repairing roads, public buildings, utilities, schools and other public infrastructure damaged or destroyed as a result of the wildfires.

Supplementary funding under the PA program goes to the state and its agencies, local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations. Under the program, FEMA obligates funds to the state for 75 percent of eligible costs, while the state or applicant covers the remaining 25 percent. The state then forwards the funds to the eligible local governments or organizations that incurred costs. Go to
http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/index.shtm for more information about the PA program.

TYLER — The state of Texas is hosting an Eligibility Workshop for the Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home tonight from 6:00 to 9:00 at UT Health Science Center at Tyler. Exhibitors and their offerings include:

• Veterans Land Board: Veterans home eligibility and admissions process and timeline.
• Texas Veterans Commission: Counselors to assist with disability, pension claims, and aid and attendance payments.
• Touchstone Eldercare Services: Outlining daily care for eligible veterans, their spouses and Gold Star parents.
Workshop using local resources for assistance toward admission.

For more information, you can call Jim Bob Mickler at 512-463-5378 or Tito Garcia at 214-450-3092. The vets’ home opens next month.

NACOGDOCHES — Three people were arrested Wednesday night after a deputy responding to a call of suspicious activity went to a home and smelled the “distinct odor of chemicals associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine,” Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss said. According to KETK and the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, Deputy Ben Curtis then asked for permission to enter the home off CR 784 near Douglass. Curtis was let inside and saw more items that confirmed his suspicion of meth, Kerss said. “He called for backup, we conducted a search, found the meth lab and found a little over a gram of produced product and the three individuals were arrested,” Kerss said.

Stephen Ray Savell, 34, of Nacogdoches, Joseph Todd Wynne, 27, of Douglass and Kristy Michelle Wynne, 31, of Nacogdoches, were all charged with third-degree felony possession of a controlled substance and second-degree felony possession or transport of chemicals with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Each remained in the Nacogdoches County Jail at last report, and bond had not been set.

LONGVIEW — A student is hit by a car in a Spring Hill ISD parking lot. According to KETK and a statement Thursday from Superintendent Wes Jones, a male freshman band student was hit by a male junior student driver in the parking lot about 7:25 Thursday morning. He is said to be all right and was talking with his parents before entering the ambulance.

The statement continues, “He has scratches, bruises, and was shaken up, but no broken bones according to the hospital report. The accident is still under investigation, but according to the police officer making the report the band student was rushing over to the JH band hall to get percussion equipment and ran out in front of the vehicle without looking. The student driver wasn’t speeding, but had no time to react. The student driver was visibly stunned and upset from the ordeal.

“We are so thankful that this accident wasn’t any more serious. Please be careful during the morning and afternoon pickup. We have many students in many activities, so drive with caution when driving through our parking lot for the safety of our students. Each campus has plans to make announcements to all students and faculty about pedestrian safety. Our police officer and administrative team have met this (Thursday) morning to review and study additional pedestrian safety for all our campuses.”

TYLER — Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson invites veterans and those who support them to the Nov. 9 dedication of Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler. A ceremony to dedicate what’s termed a one-of-a-kind long-term care facility will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home, 11466 Honor Lane, Tyler. Tours of the home will be available after the dedication ceremony. Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home is named after three local heroes — two Medal of Honor recipients and a Tuskegee airman. Family members of Travis Earl Watkins, James Marion Logan and Samuel M. Garrison will be on hand to share stories and display treasured memorabilia, including two Medals of Honor.

Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home is built on 20 acres donated by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. The donated land is just north of the Health Science Center, along the west side of Highway 155, just south of County Road 334. The home was made possible thanks to a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, with the remaining 35 percent paid for by the Texas Veterans Land Board. The new Texas State Veterans Home will join seven others across the state in Amarillo, Big Spring, Bonham, El Paso, Floresville, McAllen and Temple. But unlike previous Texas State Veterans Homes, the Smith County home will consist of 10 cottages and one common building. The design approach for each cottage focuses on drawing residents into social connection by mixing the best communal aspects of a home while still maintaining privacy and independence for residents.

Texas State Veterans Homes offer a broad spectrum of health care services, comprehensive rehabilitation programs, special diets, recreational activities, social services, libraries, and certified, secured Alzheimer’s units, each with its own secured outdoor courtyard. For additional information on Texas State Veterans Homes, including eligibility criteria, you can call 1-800-252-VETS (8387). You can also visit the Texas Veterans Land Board website at http://www.texasveterans.com or go to http://www.facebook.com/TXVLB to find information on Facebook.

LONGVIEW — Three people asleep Wednesday night in a Longview home were injured and barely escaped with their lives when a fire erupted in the residence. All three residents of the home in the 1600 block of Timpson were taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center for treatment of cuts, burns and smoke inhalation, according to Johnny Zackary, Longview Fire Marshal. A nearly 4-year-old child victim was later air evacuated to Louisiana State Medical Center-Shreveport for injuries sustained in the blaze that completely destroyed the home.

“We were very fortunate they were able to get out alive,” Zackary said. “There was no smoke alarm in the home and normally they would have been overcome with carbon monoxide.”

Instead, a 20-year-old woman and a child, who were sleeping in a front bedroom escaped out a window. In a rear bedroom, a 16-year-old girl was able to escape out a back window, he said. The 16-year-old received cut and burn injuries, he said. Zackary said the fire originated in a dining room of the home, but the cause has not been determined. The 20-year-old mother had been released from Good Shepherd so she could be with her child at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport. The Fire Marshal said the 16-year-old’s injuries were significant enough that she probably remained hospitalized Thursday morning at Good Shepherd.

Zackary said if Longview residents cannot afford one, they can go by the city’s central fire station to get one free.

SULPHUR SPRINGS – Two men are injured when their car hit a horse in Hopkins County. The wreck occurred just before 1:45 Wednesday morning on Highway 11 near Gafford’s Chapel, which is west of Sulphur Springs. Max Sterling McKinnon, 21, of Sulphur Springs, is in extremely critical condition at Tyler’s Mother Frances Hospital. The other man, whose name is unavailable, was treated at Hopkins County Memorial Hospital in Sulphur Springs.

TYLER — Douglas Elementary School principal Christy Roach has received the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance Achievers Award in the professional category. This award is presented to a Hispanic professional who has achieved success through determination and hard work.

Roach was commended for her successful community partnership efforts at Douglas Elementary School, as well as the school’s academic achievements. Douglas Elementary works with the Literacy Council of Tyler to provide night classes for community members, and partners with Tyler Junior College at their Family Learning Center. This year, Douglas Elementary School was named a Texas Education Agency Recognized campus.

“Students at Tyler ISD are very fortunate to have positive role models like Ms. Roach as their teachers and principals,” Eleno Licea, Tyler ISD Trustee and Chairman of the Hispanic Business Alliance’s Advisory Committee, said. “It is especially meaningful for our Hispanic students to interact with and learn from local leaders with whom they identify,” he continued.

Roach is a native Tylerite, who grew up just two blocks from Douglas and attended the school as a child. She has served in her current position for five years, and prior to serving as principal, Ms. Roach was a teacher and assistant principal at Douglas.

KILGORE – The new city manager for Kilgore will be coming from Colorado. The city council has hired Scott Sellers, 32, of Montrose, Colorado, where he was the towns acting city manager. Before that he was assistant city manager in Centralia, Illinois. He assumes his new duties on October 31st.

Sellers will be succeeding interim city manager City Manager Tony Williams, who has held that spot since May. Williams took the post after Jeffrey Howell left after citing managerial differences with the council.

COLLEGE STATION (AP) — The Texas Forest Service says more than a third of the nearly 36 million cubic feet of timber killed by wildfires since June in East Texas has been salvaged. It will be used to produce up to $110 million worth of homes, furniture and paper.